A mum-of-two has been diagnosed with terminal cancer as her friend rallies the community together to fund ‘lifesaving treatment’ for her.
Katherine Goodsell from Banbury set up the GoFundMe page five days ago and it has already raised over 30,000.
Her friend and neighbour, Abbie Watson, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September at the age of just 44.
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She has two young boys and prior to her diagnosis, Mrs Watson was fit and healthy, working as an art teacher in a secondary school.
If you would like to donate, you can access the fundraiser here.
Mrs Watson has undergone eight cycles of chemotherapy and five weeks of daily radiotherapy.
Mrs Goodsell explained that doctors were initially optimistic that chemotherapy would be able to shrink the tumour sufficiently so that a lifesaving operation to remove it would be possible.
But Mrs Watson's cancer was found to be very aggressive, due to a mutation.
The mutation is an error in the protein in normal cells and has been identified as causing aggressive cancer that has a limited chance of survival.
Recent scans showed that Mrs Watson’s cancer had spread and that she has a secondary tumour in her pelvic area as well as metastasis on her lungs.
Mrs Goodsell said: “Following her original diagnosis, we have been researching to find alternative options but due to the KRAS mutation, none have been deemed viable.
“Since her terminal diagnosis, we have found another option which has an excellent evidence basis for success even for those with an autoimmune disorder and KRAS mutation.
“Abbie’s best hope of life extension and long-term survival is Dendritic Cell Therapy."
Dendritic Cell Therapy works by programming patients’ cells to help their body’s immune system recognise and attack the cancer cells.
It is a cross between a vaccine and cell therapy.
The treatment in the UK costs around £50,000.
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Mrs Goodsell explained that after an initial consultation with a team of specialists, Mrs Watson was deemed a highly suitable candidate for Dendritic Cell Therapy.
She added: “This is amazing news as has given Abbie and her family much-needed hope.
“Receiving a terminal diagnosis only a few weeks ago has broken the hearts of her husband and boys as well as her parents, sister and friends so this treatment is her only chance in terms of prolonging her life or destroying the cancer tumours.
“I am very hopeful that we will meet our fundraising target.
“All that Abbie wants is just to have more time with her boys and we have everything crossed.”
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